Nuwan Kulasekara pitched one in the slot. MS Dhoni’s mighty willow swung in that famed arc. The ball was dispatched into the orbit — over long on, into the screaming crowd.

India had won. The captain remained unbeaten on 91. Yuvraj Singh, Man of the Tournament, and the man who had been vomiting blood on the way to the title round, knelt on the pitch and emitted the scream of euphoria. It reverberated across every home, echoed by every heartbeat of the cricket-loving Indian.

And the captain? The one whose every move had been mercilessly criticised all through the past month, severely hauled over calumnious flames of downright abuse? Barely a smile touched his lips as he uprooted one solitary stump as souvenir.

Sachin Tendulkar was the first to sprint into the ground with that most brilliant of smiles worth travelling miles to see. The smile that had been stopped five times in the past and could be flashed now without any inhibition. Following his steps, the other Indian players were out on the field as well, hugging each other into happy heaps, in the gushing joy of success.

Tendulkar was soon chaired around the arena — young Virat Kohli coming up with that immortal line, “He carried the Indian team on his shoulder for 21 years. It’s time we carried him.”

Text: Arunabha Sengupta
Illustration: Maha